I’ve recently discovered the talented Jennifer McGuire. I love watching her videos and perusing her blog. Her projects inspired me to experiment with Distress Inks, which I have never used before. I bought a small package of spots when they went on sale at Hobby Lobby last week. Tonight I decided to use them and made this card.

Overall, I’m very happy with how it turned out, but I wasn’t sure about the blue/green butterfly. I experimented with some other colors, which you can see below. Please help me finish my card and vote which butterfly looks best here!

As for how I made the card, I used watercolor paper (Tim Holtz brand), and with the Ranger mini round ink blender, I blended 3 colors of Distress Inks: Salty Ocean, Mowed Lawn, and Peacock Feathers. Then, I sprayed some shimmer mist (made with 70% alcohol and shimmer paint) onto a craft sheet and using a paint brush, flicked the liquid all over the watercolor paper. I also did the same thing with plain water, which resulted in larger/lighter splotches.

The word “love” was handwritten in my “fake calligraphy” style on white card stock. Using the same 3 Distress Ink colors, I blended around the edges of the white card stock. Then, I matted the white card stock onto a piece of Stampin’ UP! Pool Party card stock, and another layer of white. That panel is attached to the card with foam tape.

For the butterfly, I stamped the image from Papillon Potpourriin Memento black ink. For the blue/green butterfly, I used the same 3 Distress Inks I used for the background. The other two were made with Distress Ink also–Mustard Seed/Picked Raspberry. I cut out the butterfly using the Elegant Butterfly Punch, then attached it to the card with a stampin dimensional.

The idea for this card came about after seeing some of the stamps and artwork on this site. Since I didn’t have a “hello” stamp that looked like calligraphy, I decided I would draw my own. My calligraphy marker went missing during my last desk reorganization (I can never find things when I clean up–somehow it seemed like a good place to put it at the time!) but then I remembered coming across “fake calligraphy” when I was working on another project.

I practiced a few times on a piece of scrap paper until I had a good feel for it. I used a fine tip black marker to draw the word “hello”, then went over it with the clear Wink of Stella pen. I matted the white card stock on Basic Black card stock, layered with Silver Glimmer Paper.

The card base is Pool Party card stock. I folded it at 5 1/4″, then used the Scalloped Edge Punch along the bottom. I stamped the flower image from Creative Elementsin black ink.

To finish the card, I tied some 5/8″ Satin Black Ribbon around the card front.